Syria calls on Japan to ax meeting

CAIRO – The Syrian Foreign Ministry has voiced regret over Japan’s plan to host an international meeting this month in Tokyo to discuss sanctions against President Bashar Assad’s regime over its violent crackdown on opposition forces.

Calling on the Japanese government to reconsider, the ministry issued a statement Thursday demanding that the gathering of the so-called Friends of Syria, a group of nations that includes the United States as well as European and Arab countries, be called off.